Mythbusting!
Transparency matters. In an age where misinformation runs rampant on social media, this space aims to provide a forum for the City to share first-hand information about current projects and programs.
What topic(s) would you like to know more about?
If there’s a City program or policy you would like to learn more about, e-mail publicaffairs@ci.wilsonvillle.or.us. We'll check in with the project manager to provide first-hand information.
The City sold a parcel of land to a developer for $1 -TRUE!
Yes, the City DID sell a parcel of land to a developer for $1. It’s mentioned right in the press release that was sent after the ceremonial ground-breaking at Vuela, a 121-unit affordable housing development now under construction adjacent to the Wilsonville Transit Center.
“To catalyze development, the City sold the 1.3-acre property to Palindrome for $1 and is subsidizing $1.4 million in System Development Charges (SDCs).”
Why? Because unlike typical, market-rate residential development, affordable housing projects rely on a variety of subsidies to make building them feasible by reducing the overall project cost. The high price of land is a primary reason why housing costs are exorbitant.
And while cities don’t typically have funds available to them to help catalyze affordable housing, one thing cities often do have is land. So, it’s not unusual for cities to contribute the property for projects of this nature, especially when that property has limited utility. The deferral or waiver of some/all SDCs is also common practice.
By contributing the land parcel, the City is ensuring that affordable homes are built next to transit services for the benefit of Vuela residents. Owning the land also allowed the City to establish the vision for the property and set development requirements.
Palindrome (or any subsequent owner) must maintain affordability and engage in partnerships to provide services for community members for 60 years. The development agreement also provides a permanent, low-rent home for Wilsonville Community Sharing and rent-free space for SMART.
As the State seeks to address homelessness and cost burden — mitigating a housing crisis caused by decades of underproduction — projects like these are essential to keep Oregonians housed and healthy. When Vuela is complete, the units are to provide new housing opportunity at below-market rates to individuals and families making between 30% and 80% of Area Median Income for the long-term.
Without the City’s contributions, this crucial step to house and protect vulnerable members of our community would not have been possible.
The Town Center Plan Adds 8,000+ New Residents to Wilsonville -
FALSE (with a caveat ... see editor's note added 9/13)
The 2019 Wilsonville Town Center Plan articulates the community-led vision for a mixed-use downtown neighborhood that features retail, restaurants, office space, gathering spaces, and multi-family residential units (condos, apartments, townhomes) that provide housing variety and address the State’s critical housing shortage.
Five years after Plan adoption, some residents have sounded alarms (in public testimony, newspaper editorials, social media posts, etc.) about “8,000 new people” in the Town Center neighborhood, citing Table 3.1 on page 31 of the Plan.
Additional context is necessary to correctly understand the Plan’s actual impact on Wilsonville’s future. The Plan estimates 4,600 employees working within Town Center. Notably, that figure includes the existing workforce, estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 workers when the plan was adopted. The increased residential population, meanwhile, would come from any new occupants of an estimated 1,600 new residential units to be built. This would bring an estimated 3,000-3,500 new residents to Town Center if and when all units are built and if occupancy reaches 100 percent.
Finally, a critical piece to consider that goes unmentioned in these discussions: this forward-thinking vision for Wilsonville Town Center looks ahead 40 years … to 2060 or beyond. This growth is planned to occur slowly, over decades. On average, the residential population of Town Center would grow by about 100 people a year, while providing significant private investment in Wilsonville to yield a more vibrant downtown with critical retail amenities that many residents lament are lacking.
***{Sept. 13 editors note: The context below has been added to address discrepancies between the Wilsonville Town Center Plan and the Town Center Urban Renewal Feasibility Study regarding the number of residences forecast in Wilsonville Town Center.}***
It is impossible to surmise exactly what Wilsonville – or any city – might look like 35-40 years from now. For example, about 7,100 people lived here in 1990, and that would have sounded like a LOT to the 391 members of the Wilsonville precinct who were counted in the 1950 Census.
Wilsonville is now is a City of nearly 28,000, It remains highly livable because of good long-range planning.
City planning is an inexact science informed by established best practices; changing market demands; land availability; public sentiment; economic conditions; population shifts; and Federal, State and regional mandates. These and many other factors influence how a city prepares for the future.
Our City planners wisely forecast Wilsonville’s population to be significantly higher in 2060. We employ long-range planners to make sure the City’s inevitable growth is well-managed and doesn’t compromise the quality of life for its current and future residents.
Urban development research shows that fiscally and socially healthy cities have a well-planned central business district within a vibrant, more densely populated downtown core. Residents have stated their preference for better restaurants, shops and gathering places. The 2019 Town Center Plan was adopted to deliver these new amenities, and to avoid sprawling and haphazard development by favoring ‘mixed-use’ construction that includes residential units above retail/commercial storefronts, and better accommodates all modes of transportation.
Just how many residential units has been a topic of local conversation among residents concerned about high-density growth, prompting a City response (above) that provided additional context. Subsequently, some pointed to an exhibit from the 2023 Town Center Urban Renewal Feasibility Study (TCURFS) that projects more than twice as many new residences (4,179) than forecast in the Town Center Plan (1,600).
Why the discrepancy?
“The Town Center Plan is looking at what we think the market will deliver over the next three-plus decades, whereas the feasibility study looks at capacity to say ‘if development were maximized, and every property that could reasonably redevelop did redevelop, what's the real capacity?’,” explained Matt Lorenzen, the City’s Economic Development Manager. “The study looks at the maximum development scenario for the purpose of making sure we would have the debt capacity available to build the infrastructure needed to support maximum development.”
In short, effective long-range planning yields two estimates that serve different purposes.
The City’s Development Review Board (DRB) protects the City from ever building more than its infrastructure can handle. In the 1990s, a moratorium was placed on new development in Wilsonville because the City’s water system was near capacity. That moratorium was lifted after the City built the Willamette River Water Treatment Plant.
Were changes in market conditions over time to substantially increase residential development projected in the Town Center Plan, the DRB would deny or delay projects the City’s infrastructure could not bear.
So, while it’s highly unlikely that the number of new residences in Town Center over 40 years would approach 4,000 by 2060, it’s not impossible. In that event, every new project would require DRB review and only be approved for construction if sufficient infrastructure were intact.
The City doesn’t want to do business with Home Depot - FALSE
Home Depot, the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer, seeks to open at the former Fry’s Electronics store (29400 SW Town Center Loop West). To this end, in late 2023, Home Depot filed an application with the City to be treated as a “continuation” of an existing “non-conforming” use at the location. This application has been the subject of controversy.
The Fry’s property, located within the Wilsonville Town Center, is zoned in accordance with the 2019 Wilsonville Town Center Plan. This Plan details the community’s vision for a neighborhood that includes about 100 acres of property within and adjacent to Town Center Loop. An extensive two-year public engagement effort informed the Town Center Plan. The community’s preference was a pedestrian-oriented mixed-use Town Center, a modern main street, and buildings with smaller footprints.
“Everything in that document came from the community,” said Miranda Bateschell, the City’s Planning Director, who oversaw the most extensive public engagement effort in the City’s history.
Oregon state land use laws stipulate that after new development code (i.e. the Town Center Plan) is adopted, existing structures and uses that do not meet the new requirements become “non-conforming.” While that specific use is allowed to continue as-is (even if it does not conform to the new development code) any other use, or expansion or modification of the use is not permitted. This “non-conforming use” doctrine protects property owners and operators that might be negatively impacted by a new development code, allowing them to continue operating. It also protects communities by ensuring that any changes or expansions implemented after adoption must undergo further scrutiny by the local government.
“If you don’t have a narrow interpretation of non-conforming use, it undercuts the community’s vision and a comprehensive plan can never be implemented,” said Bateschell. “With a broad interpretation, almost anything could go in any building.”
City planners met with Home Depot representatives on multiple occasions to discuss all potential paths for Home Depot to locate in Wilsonville. These paths include finding a location in another area (with permissive zoning), operating at the Fry’s location within applicable Town Center regulations, or applying for a change of non-confirming use. Home Depot has not pursued these options, and instead applied to locate at the Fry’s Electronics location through a continuation of non-conforming use application.
In two separate proceedings, the City’s Development Review Board (DRB) recognized the non-conforming use of the Fry’s Electronics store (“a 159,400 square-foot electronics-related retail store”), and declined to recognize Home Depot’s proposed use at this location as a continuation of this non-conforming use. After a review with the applicant, City Council affirmed these DRB decisions. Home Depot has appealed City Council’s decisions in this matter to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA).
Wilsonville welcomes any applicant who proposes development consistent with City regulations. Home Depot has not filed a development application with the City that would allow the City to consider its merits. The City is limited to considering the applications that have been filed.
With the Urban Renewal advisory vote failing, the Wilsonville Town Center Plan is Dead - FALSE
In May’s advisory vote, by the narrowest of margins, residents did not support the establishment of an Urban Renewal District that would avail funding to complete public infrastructure projects outlined in the Wilsonville Town Center Plan.
So, what’s next?
The City’s Planning Director, Miranda Bateschell, affirms that the vision for the area within and adjacent the Town Center Loop remains clear; only the timeline may change.
“The Plan has been in place for five years and will continue to guide permitting, investment and future redevelopment of available property,” Bateschell said.
Adopted by the Planning Commission and the City Council in 2019, the Wilsonville Town Center Plan was informed by the input of thousands who provided input via online surveys and polls, workshops and meetings, community events, idea centers, and focus groups over two years.
“The Plan reflects community priorities gathered during the most extensive public outreach program in the City’s history,” Bateschell said.
Its pillars include consolidated, accessible parking spaces, safe connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians, year-round gathering places, vibrant dining and entertainment options, and mixed-use buildings. A chain of parks, plazas and promenades provide a connection to Memorial Park.
“Until 2019, Town Center development was guided by a plan established in the late 1970s, and a lot has changed in 45 years,” Bateschell said. “The Town Center Plan is a forward-thinking plan to maintain Wilsonville’s high quality of life for future generations.”
Without Urban Renewal, the City faces a significant challenge to fund the infrastructure improvements in Town Center that would incentivize private developers to invest in Wilsonville.
“The community has emphatically supported this Plan, but without new parks, roads, a pedestrian bridge and other improvements to entice builders, vacant properties could lay stagnant and delay the vision,” Bateschell said.
